Development and user experience evaluation of a virtual reality-based cognitive-assessment tool for older adults: Preliminary study

Virtual reality (VR) has demonstrated its potential across a wide range of applications, particularly in education, healthcare, and psychology. Within neuropsychology, VR-based research on cognitive function assessment and treatment is gaining momentum, leading to the development of innovative neuropsychological VR paradigms. Despite advancements, limited research has focused on using VR to assess cognitive functions in older adults. This study aimed to develop an immersive VR-based cognitive-assessment tool to evaluate spatial and sensory-information processing in older adults. The program was implemented using multisensory feedback incorporating visual and auditory stimuli, as well as tactile and gesture-based hand interactions through haptic gloves. Ten individuals (three females and seven males; mean age = 65 years) participated in user-experience evaluations and in-depth interviews to explore the effectiveness and areas for improvement of the proposed program. Survey responses were analyzed using descriptive statistics to assess user experience across four categories. The participants assessed the tool as exceptionally safe (5.00 points), satisfactory (4.33 points), and well-designed (4.73 points). However, they also reported issues such as discomfort during object-hand interactions, inaccurate auditory-feedback recognition, and difficulty performing tactile-attention tasks. The results indicate that the proposed VR-based cognitive-assessment tool holds considerable potential as a useful cognitive assessment tool for older adults. However, it requires further research and development as well as advancements in sensor technology, hand-tracking algorithms, and customizable interfaces.